


Crashing the Conference

by dietcokeenthusiast



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Relationship Conflict, a few allusions to Symmarah
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-28
Updated: 2016-10-30
Packaged: 2018-08-27 13:38:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8403742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dietcokeenthusiast/pseuds/dietcokeenthusiast
Summary: Mei is reluctant to bring D.Va along to a serious climate conference she's attending, much to her chagrin, but when other unwelcome guests make their presence felt, it's up to her to show why you don't try to leave D.Va on the shelf.





	1. Homecoming

Lena threw up her hands in frustration. “Ugh! Are you bloody kidding me? I wasn’t even alive for five seconds.”

“Git gud, then,” Hana fired back, not taking her eyes off the screen.

“You know this is why no one likes playing Halo 4 with you, right, luv?”

Hana rolled her eyes. “If you don’t have the skills to compete, that’s your problem. Some of us play to wi-”

“Play to win, right, right,” Lena grumbled.

“Some would say that watching another player’s screen isn’t an example of skill,” said Fareeha as she watched her character get blasted across the map from a grenade.

“QQ,” Hana replied, grabbing a handful of doritos and shoving them in her mouth. “If you weren’t supposed to do it, then they wouldn’t have put it in the game in the first place.”

Fareeha shook her head, wiping the errant crumbs from Hana’s snack off of her with a look of disgust. “I agree with Lena. It’s not enjoyable when you act like this.”

“Yeah Han, If Fareeha’s telling you to lighten up, then you _know_ you need to lighten up,” Lucio chimed in.

“That sounds like something someone who’s losing would say,” Hana fired back, killing Lena within five seconds of spawning once again.

“Bloody ‘ell!”

Lucio chuckled. “Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Seconds later, Hana’s character was killed by a sniper bullet.

“ _Shi bal!”_ She cried, hurling her controller on the ground to giggling from the others. “That was cheap! You were probably watching my screen anyways, Lucio.”

“Oh, but Hana,” Fareeha said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “If you weren’t supposed to do it, then they wouldn’t have put it in the game in the first place.”

Hana just crossed her arms and pouted as the giggling turned in to raucous laughter. She shot Fareeha the nastiest glare she could muster, but in response she just smiled and tousled Hana’s hair, adding further to her indignity.

“Come on Han,” Lucio urged. “You’re still beating us by at least twenty kills combined. It’s not like the game’s over or anything.”

“Make it nineteen, luv!” Lena chirped as she blasted Hana’s still uncontrolled character.

Hana was seething. “You little-“

Before she could get any further, there was the sound of the door opening, followed by a familiar voice. “ _Nihao_! Is everyone playing nice?”

Hana immediately perked up and squealed. “MEI!” Within seconds she had cleared the back of the couch and flung herself at Mei, sending both of them tumbling to the ground. Before Mei had a chance to react, Hana proceeded to pepper Mei’s face with a downpour of kisses. It had just been a week, but Hana intended to make up for every lost second.

“Mei! You’re back! I. Missed you. So much,” she managed to get out in between kisses.

Mei grinned, and cradled Hana’s cheek with her hand. “I missed you too Hana!” Then suddenly, her face scrunched up.

“Is something wrong?”

Mei took a moment before replying. “Zesty cheese?”

Hana laughed. “It was! You’re getting better at this. I remember when you couldn’t tell the difference between cool ranch and jalapeno cheddar.”

“I didn’t know the chips were such a big deal, Hana,” said Mei, nuzzling noses with her.

“You better know now,” Hana teased.

The reunion was interrupted by the sound of Lucio’s voice. “Hey Han, are you still playing or what?”

Hana snapped her head back to the screen, and was mortified to find her lead had almost disappeared. _They went on without me! Those sneaky f-_

“It’s okay if you want to finish your game, Hana,” Mei said softly. It was certainly tempting, especially given her aversion to losing, but one look into those brown eyes of Mei’s and Hana knew exactly where she stood.

“Yeah, go on without me,” said Hana. “I’m gonna help Mei with her things. I’ll beat you guys later!”

Lena whistled loudly, and Hana hoped no one saw the blush creeping up her cheeks. Still, it was worth it. Grabbing on to Mei’s hand, the two made their way back to Mei’s quarters.

\--

_“Dear Maritza,_

_Thank you sooo much for your e-mail! I’m so happy that you liked my last stream, and that you’ve been training to be a competitive gamer. The next time your brother gives you any trouble, you just beat him down even harder._

_Hope I’ll see you in a tournament someday!_

_Annyeong! <3_

_Love,  
D.Va “_

Hana sat cross-legged on Mei’s bed, replying to the last of her fanmail on her laptop. The messages from the kids always got to her, even if she’d never admit it to _anyone_.

“So the remote cloud-seeding devices I’ve developed have been working,” Mei gushed, pulling her bra out of the sleeve of her t-shirt. “Even in the most arid regions we’re seeing at least a 10% increase in precipitation, which is still a bit below the target, but I think if we just increase the number of devices that should work. Then I can focus on improving the range of them so that we can improve conditions in all of our test areas!”

“That’s great, babe! You’re always making the world a better place,” Hana chirped, opening up her video editing software. “Seriously, I’m so proud to have a girlfriend as smart and awesome as you.”

“Oh, well, that’s just, well, I can’t take all the credit. I mean, I worked with other scientists on the desi-“

“Mei!” Hana interrupted, a warning tone in her voice. “You’re wonderful! Stop questioning it!”

“Sorry! Thanks, Hana,” said Mei.

Hana smiled to herself, and started focusing on her work. As she started to edit her latest highlight package, she tried not to get too distracted by Mei changing into her sleep shorts. She was only somewhat successful.

“So, hey,” said Mei, letting her hair down for the night. “I, um, kind of have to go again after the next mission.”

That was enough to get Hana to snap her head up from her laptop. “Are you serious?”

“My work keeps me busy, just like yours does,” Mei replied.

Hana huffed. “At least I can bring you along to my work.”

Mei sat down beside Hana and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “I know, and you know you’re welcome to come with me at any time you want.”

Hana opened her mouth to speak, but knew Mei was right. She had always extended the invitation to her, but unless it was combat, Hana wasn’t terribly fond of the outdoors. No electricity and shitty Wi-Fi made for a very unhappy D.Va. Defeated, she slumped against Mei, hoping she didn’t make her concession _too_ obvious. “How long will you be gone for?”

“Not long, _airen_ ,” Mei reassured her, running her hand through Hana’s hair. “With travel, it’s only four days.”

Hana nodded. “I guess I can forgive you if that’s all it is.”

“You guess? That’s pretty cold of you,” Mei chuckled.

Hana groaned loudly. “Okay, now I don’t forgive you.”

A gasp. “You’re so mean!” Mei shot back in mock offence.

“You’re the one being mean, abandoning your girlfriend!” Hana said, giving Mei a playful shove for emphasis.

Before she could say anything else, she was knocked back on the bed by a pillow to the face. In a matter of seconds, Mei was perched on top of her, giggling and swinging a pillow at her face.

“Mei! I – _oof!_ Swear if you don’t _–oof!_ Stop this right now – _oof!_ I’m gonna-“

“Going to what?” Mei asked, holding the pillow aside and leaning in close to Hana, inches away from her face.

Hana grabbed Mei by the shoulders and pulled her close, kissing her deeply. She delighted in Mei’s squeal of surprise as her tongue passed her lips, and in the little sighs she let out whenever Hana nibbled on her bottom lip. A shameless smirk crossed Hana’s face when she finally let Mei go.

“O-o-oh wow…” Mei stammered, her cheeks bright red. She rolled to the side, sighing deeply as she laid her head on the pillow.

Hanna giggled and propped her head up on her arm, tracing the shape of Mei’s collarbone. She thought of planting more kisses on her, but decided to give her some time to recover. Also, with Mei’s beautiful face practically glowing the way it was, only a scrub wouldn’t take the time to admire it for a bit.

Mei’s cheeks grew even redder, and she turned away. “Um… Hana?”

“Yeah?”

“Y-you’re staring.”

“Well, yeah,” said Hana, draping an arm over her waist. “It’s hard not to when my girlfriend is so cute.”

Mei just giggled in response, shifting closer. Hana kissed Mei’s cheek, and squeezed her tightly in response. Even months after their first night together, Hana marvelled at how well the two of them fit together. Like well-setup tetris pieces. Like somehow they had been guided to find their place right beside each other.

Being separated again so soon? Hana knew then she wasn’t going to stand for that.

“Mei?”

“Yes, Hana?”

“I think I want to go with you on this one.”

“What do you mean?”

“I want to go with you on your next trip,” said Hana, giving Mei another squeeze. To her surprise, Mei was silent in response. “Uh, Mei? I want to go with you.”

Mei turned her head to look at Hana. “Oh, um, well… are you sure? I haven’t even told you where I’m going yet.”

“Doesn’t matter,” said Hana. “I mean, whatever it is I can deal with it. I’m D.Va, after all!”

“I know,” Mei smiled awkwardly, “but I don’t want you to come if you’re not going to be happy. I mean, I don’t want you to be bored or miserable, because that would be a bad thing and I don’t like you being unhappy, and then-“

Hana put a finger to Mei’s lips. “You’re cute when you ramble, but really, it’s okay.”

“Oh! Well, okay…” Mei kept her eyes averted from Hana. “Well, sure, you can come along.”

Hana blinked. “Do you not want me to?”

“N-no! No, _airen_ ,” Mei stammered, “I, um, like I said, I just don’t want you to be unhappy there.”

“It’ll be fine,” Hana said firmly. She couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something that Mei wasn’t telling her, but she wasn’t going to let this one go.

“Okay,” Mei replied, turning her gaze back to Hana. “I’m glad you’ll be with me. It’ll be a-Mei-zing!”

Hana tried and failed to suppress a smile. Mei was such a freaking dork. “So, is there at least wifi there?”

“There is,” said Mei. “It’s actually going to be a conference for environmental scientists in Vancouver, and we managed to get a pretty nice hotel.”

“Awesome!” Hana planted a big kiss on Mei’s lips. “Why would you think I wouldn’t be into that?”

“I… I just didn’t want you to be bored during all the conferences.”

“Pfft. Mei, I started crushing on you because you’re a big nerd. You really think I would get bored by this conference?”

“I guess not,” Mei chuckled uneasily. “As long as we don’t get ourselves hurt or killed, we’ll be leaving on Friday.”

“Good,” said Hana, laying her head on Mei’s chest and snuggling as close as she could manage. She closed her eyes as she felt Mei’s lips pressed against her forehead. In the back of her mind, she remembered that she hadn’t finished editing her new highlight video or posted the date of the new stream, but somehow that all seemed less important right now.

Even the questions about why Mei seemed so hesitant earlier seemed less important.


	2. A Frosty Reception

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hana is happy for the chance to spend time with Mei at work, and does her best to make their first night in the hotel a memorable one, but meeting Mei's fellow scientists doesn't go nearly as well as she planned.

D.Va finished signing the photograph, and handed it to the teenage boy standing next to her. “Here you go! Annyeong!”

“W-wow! Thanks I can’t wait to tell all my friends I met _the_ D.Va!”

D.Va just giggled and flashed a peace sign as the fan took his leave. She immediately turned to the counter to find her McDonald’s order ready to go. Grabbing the tray hungrily, she immediately started over to where Fareeha was sitting.

Fareeha nodded. “It seems your popularity follows you wherever you go, Hana.”

“I’m kind of a big deal,” she joked, opening up her first box of McNuggets and digging in.

“You really should be eating better,” said Fareeha, taking another bite of a wrap the size of Hana’s forearm. “I honestly don’t understand how you’re in combat shape with a diet like yours.”

“Metabolism!” Hana chirped with a mouthful of chicken nuggets.

“Hm. Enjoy that while it lasts.”

“Plan on it!” said Hana.  “So hey, I saw you chatting with that one lady from Vishkar again.”

Fareeha raised an eyebrow. “Have you been eavesdropping on me?”

“I’ve seen her around HQ a few times, and you’re always there with her. Please tell me it’s all part of your plan to fire a rocket up her ass soon, the good-for-nothi-“

Fareeha looked almost offended. “I have no intention of doing any such thing.”

“Seriously? She’s Vishkar! Lucio told me all about what those people did to Rio.”

“I’m well aware of what sort of company the Vishkar Corporation is,” Fareeha replied. “Satya isn’t that sort of person. Not truly. I hope one day she will realize that she’s been misled.”

It was Hana’s turn to raise an eyebrow now. “Satya? Just how friendly are you two?”

“That’s… we’ve only met as professionals!”

Hana giggled, the prospect of teasing Fareeha overcoming her contempt for Vishkar. “Does big bad Pharah have a crush?”

She swore she saw Fareeha shift in her seat. “As I recall you were the one who wanted who discuss _her_ romantic life!”

“Oh fine, but we’re so talking about this later!”

“You can convince yourself of that if you wish,” Fareeha sighed. “Now, what is happening with you and Mei?”

“Well, I’m going to this conference with her in Vancouver. It sounds pretty cool, since she gets to talk about all the research and other stuff she’s done,” Hana explained, opening her second box of McNuggets. “Plus we get to actually go on dates and do stuff like a real couple.”

“I see,” said Fareeha. “So what seems to be the problem?”

“It’s that when I asked to come, she got… weird about it. Even now she still sounds a bit nervous about it. I don’t get why,” Hana sighed. “Doesn’t she want to spend more time together?”

“Why not ask her about it?”

“I did. She always says she’s just worried about me being bored, but it’s a nice hotel in a big city, totally my kind of place!”

“Perhaps she worries because the first time you joined her for work, things got rather difficult from what you told me,” said Fareeha.

“Well, yeah, we did kind of start fighting over that,” Hana mumbled.

“So if you want to put her mind at ease, show her she has nothing to worry about. Make new memories that can replace the old ones,” Fareeha urged, placing a hand on Hana’s shoulder. “You’re a good woman, Hana, and I can see how much the two of you care for each other. Don’t be so quick to cast doubts on what you have.”

Hana scarfed down more nuggets, and nodded. “Thanks, Fareeha. I’ll just have to show Mei the best time ever!”

“Then it sounds like you’ll be just fine,” Fareeha smiled. Hana was tempted to pull out her phone just to prove it actually happened.

“I think I will be,” said Hana. “So then… does your mom know about _Satya_?”

Fareeha just buried her face in her hands, much to Hana’s amusement.

\--

Hana handed the busboy a tip, and then looked around the place. It was spacious; plenty of room for sitting in addition to the bed, and a jacuzzi in the corner. Grinning, she flopped face-first onto the bed, revelling in its softness. “Wow Mei!” She exclaimed, voice muffled by the mattress. “You weren’t kidding when you said this place was nice.”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it,” said Mei.

“A vacation with the cutest girlfriend ever?” Hana propped her head up on her arms and turned to look at Mei. “You bet I’m enjoying it!”

“Oh, Hana!” Mei turned away to hide her blush as she unpacked her clothes. “Vacation isn’t really the right term, though. Remember, this is still work for me.”

“I know, babe, but we have tonight, don’t we? Plus the days all finish at 5, right?”

“Yes, but-“

“But nothing,” Hanna interjected. “D.Va’s going to make sure you are loving every bit of this, even the parts where you’re not totally geeking out.”

Mei finished hanging up the last of her clothes, and flashed a big grin at Hana. “That sounds nice. What did you have in mind?”

“Well, we can go out on the town and go to the nicest place we can find, or we can get room service, play some games I’ll totally beat you at, try out the jacuzzi, and… other things,” said Hana, who was practically purring the last words.

The blush ran back to Mei’s cheeks. “W-wow. I think I like the room service idea best.”

Hana giggled, and patted a spot next to her on the bed. “I thought so.” Mei had hardly sat down on the bed before Hana was wrapped around her, kissing her from her shoulder up her neck. The little breathy sounds she made were absolutely heavenly. Wrapping her arms around Mei’s waist, she squeezed affectionately, her arms sinking into the soft swell of her tummy.  Hana whispered into Mei’s ear. Her voice low and husky, “So… know what I could really go for right now?”

She could practically feel the heat radiating off of Mei’s face as she swallowed before answering. “W-w-what could you go for?”

Hana planted a kiss on Mei’s cheek with a loud smack, and hopped off the bed. “A DK-sized hamburger!”

Mei was frozen in place for a few moments as she tried to gather her breath and her thoughts. “A-are you serious, Hana?”

“Well yeah,” she replied, flipping through the room service menu. “I thought that was part of the plan for tonight.”

Mei’s face was beet red. “Room service was the p-plan! Not you being such a-“

“It’s your fault for being so cute when you’re blushing,” Hana grinned. “You’re like all the cute pokemon put together!”

Mei giggled. “Thanks, Hana.”

Hana made a kissy face, and then tossed her the menu. “Okay, you tell me what you want, and then we’ll call it in!”

A half an hour later, Mei and Hana had changed into their pajamas, tucking in to poached salmon and a hamburger respectively. Hana convinced Mei to toss French fries her way so she could catch them in her mouth, but was for the most part unsuccessful. She knew she’d probably end up regretting it when she was in bed later. The night proceeded as planned for the most part from there, though the gaming session was interrupted by an impromptu tickle fight once Hana racked up a ten fight winning streak in Mortal Kombat. Mei fared better when they switched to board games, and was still unassailable when it came to Ticket to Ride, but Hana was pleased that she at least won a game of Dominion.

It didn’t take long after that for Hana to want to try the jacuzzi out. She immediately started filling it up as soon as the last of the cards had been packed up, and was undressed and in the tub before it was even filled. Hana playfully smacked Mei’s butt as she got into the water, earning her a playful splash back. A quick splash fight later, she was relaxed; the jets massaging her lower back, Mei’s arm draped across her back, and their legs entangled.

“This is nice,” Mei sighed, resting her head against Hana’s.

“You deserve a break before your big conference,” said Hana, nuzzling her cheek. “What’s happening the first day?”

“Well there’s the opening keynote tomorrow, and the first day is all about how to deal with the current impacts of global warming. So developments in irrigation, anti-flooding technology, storm resistant construction, stuff like that!” Mei took a breath, and traced circles with her fingers on Hana’s back. “My work’s all about reversing or stabilizing warming trends and prevention, but it’ll still be really interesting to see what scientists have been doing in other fields for the good of our world, especially since there’s so many people who’d benefit from more immediate relief of the current effects out there, and I’m so sorry, I’m rambling again.”

Hana nudged her. “Never be sorry for that! You’re really pretty when you get all passionate.”

“Do I really?”

“Well you’re pretty all the time, but especially then,” Hana grinned. “That’s why I wanted to be here.”

Mei giggled. “You didn’t have to come here if you just wanted to listen to me ramble. You could stay in and just listen to me ramble all night when I’m done.”

“I could,” said Hana, a wicked grin growing across her face, “but there’s something else I want to do at night.” _And_ , she thought to herself as she pressed her lips against Mei’s neck, _what D.Va wants, D.Va gets._

\--

“Should I wear the black jacket or the white jacket? I kind of like the white one, but I want to look professional enough for the other people here, so I don’t want to be too flashy or anything like that, so-”

“Mei,” Hana took a break from fixing her eyeliner to look at Mei, who was holding up two different blazers. She took a few seconds to examine them both. “I saw white. That way we can match!” She enthused, gesturing over to the black and white dress laid out on the bed.

“Are you sure?”

“Yup,” Hana replied, finishing the final touches. “Of course you look super cute no matter what.”

“Look who’s talking,” said Mei, slipping in to the white blazer. “I think this should be okay, actually!”

“Of course, I suggested it!” Hana grinned, digging through her suitcase for a pair of nude pantyhose. “You’re totally going to wipe the floor with all of them.”

“It’s not a contest, _airen_ ,” Mei replied, taking a big drink of tea. “Besides, even if it was my presentation isn’t until tomorr- oh no!”

Hana finished pulling on her nylons and looked over at Mei. “Huh?”

“I haven’t even started on my presentation! I still need to create the charts to present that data and then make sure I have all the main facts and conclusions up on the presentation and it’s going to take hours, and then I’m going to-“

Hana got up from the bed and draped her arms around Mei’s neck. “Remember when you guested on my stream one time to talk science, and you were all nervous and stuff because you didn’t have notes or stuff?”

Mei nodded.

“Then you still wowed everyone because you’re so smart and passionate!” Hana chirped, giving Mei a quick peck on the lips. “No amount of prep is going to save someone who didn’t git gud, and you’ve _definitely_ gotten gud. Besides, you can work tonight, right?”

Mei took a deep breath. “You’re right, Hana.”

Hana winked, and gave her another kiss before slipping her dress on. “Suit me up?”

Mei nodded, and pulled up the zipper. “Are you going to be o-“

Hana sighed in exasperation. “Yes! I’m okay going to this with you!”

Mei blinked. “I was going to ask if you’d be okay if we skip the breakfast get right to the conference.”

“Oh. Uh, sure.” She felt a bit silly for jumping on conclusions now.

Slipping on a pair of heels, she waited for Mei to grab her things and headed out the door with her. In the elevator, she interlaced her fingers with Mei’s, and have her a smile. “Thanks, Mei.”

“Oh, um, of course, _airen_ ,” she replied, looking down at her feet. Hana thought about asking her why she was acting so weird again all of a sudden, when they reached the ground floor. Then, she couldn’t help but notice Mei’s hand slip out of hers as she left as she ran off to the conference room.  
  
She couldn’t help but feel a bit hurt at that. _She’s probably just excited! She’s such a nerd,_ Hana thought to herself. She focused on catching up, and followed the signs and the glimpses of Mei to the conference room, and was impressed by how many people there were here. She was used to big crowds, but was surprised to see this many people here for climate stuff.

She felt someone tap on her shoulder. “Um, excuse me, miss? A-are you D.Va?”

She spun around to a find a tall, nervous looking blond man looking at her. She flashed him a grin and a peace sign. “The one and only!”

“O-oh! It’s so nice to meet you, Miss D.Va! Could I ask you for an autograph?” He asked, holding out a promo photo. “It’s… for my daughter. She’s a big fan…”

“Of course! What’s _her_ name?” She said with a wink.

“S-Steven…”

“Thought so,” D.Va giggled, pulling out a pen from her clutch. “For Steven, Love, D.Va! Here you go!”

Steven looked like he was about to faint as he took the photo from her. “W-wow, thank you!”

“Anytime. Annyeong!” She smiled as the man scurried off. _What was Mei even worried about? This is just fine!_ She then set her attention on looking for her girlfriend, finally noticing her white blazer after a few seconds. She was chatting with an old man in a sweater vest and a woman in a grey pantsuit who looked to be about Mei’s age.

“There you are!” She called, heading over to Mei’s side.

“H-Hana!” Mei looked genuinely surprised by her appearance.

“A friend of yours?” The older man asked.

Mei swallowed. “This i-is Hana Song, everyone!”

“Annyeong!”

The woman looked Hana up and down. “You seem familiar. Where would I have seen you?” She asked in a thick Swedish accent.

“Well, I’m a professional gamer, streamer, and vlogger. You might know me as D.Va!” Hana grinned.

The woman nodded. “Right, I’ve definitely heard of you before. You’ve made quite the name for yourself with just video games.”

Hana wanted to ask what she meant by _just_ video games, but bit her tongue. “You could say that!”

“Y-yep!” Mei stammered. “So, what were w-“

“Excuse my curiosity, but what exactly brings a so-called professional gamer to a conference like this?” The man fixed Hana with a strange look.

“Oh! I’m just here to support Mei, listen, and learn,” Hana replied, forcing out another smile.

“Ah, I see. Well, I’m afraid what we’re talking about is going to be a bit above the level of Super Mario or Call of Duty, or whatever it is that you do,” the older man quipped. “The conference is intended for scientists, not for the layman.”

Hana gritted her teeth, but a pleading look from Mei got her to restrain herself. “I know, but I’m not just someone who plays games. I’ve done a few films, and I’m also Korean military, and stream some of my operations.”

“Well, we’re all thankful for your service,” said the woman, jumping in to the conversation, “but don’t you think it’s kind of vulgar to be showing that on the internet? I mean, do my kids really need to see the actual shooting and violence like it’s some sort of a game?”

Hana’s hands balled up into fists. She could deal with someone making light of her playing video games, but talking down to her about her service? That was just _asking_ for a verbal zerg rush. “What I show is reality, and if you can’t handle th-“

“Sorry, sorry!” Mei cut in, tugging on Hana’s arm, “We know you’re presenting soon Dr. Hjalmarsson, so we shouldn’t take up any more of your time. Sorry!”

Hana gave Mei a confused look, but ultimately followed her. Not before shooting a dirty look at the woman she assumed as Dr. Hjalmarsson, though.  She then turned to Mei. “What the hell is their problem?”

“Sorry Hana, I know she was being rude but… she’s one of the peer reviewers for a journal I’ve done some submissions for, so I kind of have to play nice there. Sorry…”

“You don’t need to be sorry. It’s not your fault she’s being a total troll,” she replied, giving Mei a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll play nice, though.”

Mei nervously scanned her surroundings. “Um, thanks. I mean, that’s good! Really!”

Hana looked at Mei awkwardly. She was back to acting weird about the whole thing. “So, um… want to see if there’s any snacks?”

Mei nodded, and headed off in what Hana assumed was the direction of the snack table. Maybe with some food, the rest of the day would be a bit less awkward.


End file.
